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Solitaire Chess The Great Vera Menchik


By Bruce Pandolfini Join the club!


Vera Menchik (1906-1944) was possibly


the first woman to compete successfully with the top male players. She captured the first official women’s title in 1927 and wound up defending her women’s world championship all six times it was con- tested. It was master Albert Becker who supposedly made up the concept of the Vera Menchik Club, which consisted of top men Menchik defeated. Soon thereafter Becker became its first member. In the fol- lowing game between Menchik and George Thomas (Black), played in London in 1932, Thomas is added to the club very nicely. The game began:


Kings Indian Defense, Sämisch Variation (E70) Vera Menchik George Thomas London, 1932


1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6


rsnlwqk+-tr zppzp-zppvlp -+-zp-snp+ +-+-+-+- -+PzPP+-+ +-sN-+-+- PzP-+-zPPzP tR-vLQmKLsNR


Your starting position


Now make sure you have the above position set up on your chessboard. As you play through the remaining moves in this game, use a piece of paper to cover the article, exposing White’s next move only after trying to guess it. If you guess correctly, give yourself the par score. Sometimes points are also rewarded for second-best moves, and there may be bonus points—or deductions—for other moves and variations. Note that **means


18 Chess Life — February 2012


that the note to Black’s move is over and White’s move is in the next line.**


5. f3 Par Score 4 White plays the Sämisch Variation,


securing e4 and g4. Receive full credit for the alternatives 5. Nf3, the Classical Sys- tem; 5. f4, the Four Pawns Attack; 5. Be2, the Averbakh System; and 5. g3, the Fianchetto Variation.


5. … 6.


6. … 0-0 Be3 Par Score 5


Accept full credit for 6. Nge2 e5 7. Bg5. If 6. Bg5, there follows 6. ... c5.


e5


Even here 6. ... c5 can be played as a gambit, but no one knew that in 1932. Well, no one talked about it in public.**


7. Nge2 Par Score 5 This was Alekhine’s recommendation in


place of the immediate 7. d5 (for which we award full credit). The idea 7. dxe5 dxe5 8. Qxd8 Rxd8 (only 4 points part credit) was Botvinnik’s choice versus Tal, 1961. It doesn’t offer advantage, but against Tal it usually wasn’t a bad notion to get queens off the board.


7. … b6 Black’s choice is a rightly forgotten


move that reduces options on the queen- side. Today, 7. ... c6, with 8. ... Nbd7, is the main line. Perhaps Sir George wanted to avoid 7. ... Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. c5.**


8. Qd2 Par Score 5 Menchik prepares 0-0-0 in the short


run and Bh6 in the long run. Add 1 bonus point for each thought.


8. … 9.


Nc6 d5 Par Score 5


Menchik is agreeable as the advance comes with tempo on the knight.


9. …


Ne7 Not 9. ... Nd4?, dropping a pawn after


10. Nxd4 exd4 11. Bxd4 (1 bonus point). If 9. ... Na5, then 10. b3, with 11. g4, and then 12. Ng3 offers full play on the king- side. Sir George’s countrymen, Amos Burn and F.D. Yates, retreated 9. ... Nc6- b8, following up with ... a7-a5, ... Nb8-a6, and ... Na6-c5. It’s awfully slow, and when the knight reaches c5, it butts up against the solidly guarded e4-pawn.**


10. g4 10. … Par Score 5


White stakes out space on the kingside. Nd7


Black is thinking about reposting the


knight at c5, but there’s also the idea of following with the advance ... f7-f5. As we already know, c5 is not a great square ver- sus the Sämisch, so maybe 10. ... Ne8, guarding g7, with the idea of playing ... f7- f5, is probably better.**


11. Rg1 Par Score 5 Often the rook remains on h1 to sup-


port the advance, h2-h4-h5. But as the present game shows the h-pawn can advance without rook support. It’s place- ment at g1 is to discourage f7-f5. Now White is poised to open the g-file against the black king.


11. … a5 Black aims to prevent b2-b4, thus


securing c5 for the knight. Despite White’s last move, 11. ... f5 should be played, because without this advance Black is sure to get out-spaced on the kingside. After 11. ... f5 12. gxf5 gxf5 13. Bh6, the move 13. ... Ng6 defends and even threat- ens ... Qd8-h4+.**


12. 0-0-0


12. … 13. Ng3


Par Score 5


To quote the great Fred Reinfeld: “Cas- tles queenside!”


Nc5 Par Score 5 uschess.org


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